Apple reportedly starts making force-sensitive iPhones
Those rumors of a pressure-sensitive iPhone just gained a little more weight. Bloomberg sources claim that Apple has begun “early production” of iPhone models that incorporate Force Touch input. Full-scale manufacturing would start as soon as July, if all goes well. Don’t expect these devices to be conspicuously different, though. The tipsters say the devices will be similar on the outside to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, right down to the 4.7- and 5.5-inch screens. In other words, this could well be the stereotypical iPhone “S” release — all the big improvements (such as Force Touch, a faster processor and upgraded cameras) may be found under the hood.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple
Source: Bloomberg
Apple Music arrives June 30th at 11AM Eastern, Beats 1 an hour later
Determined to try Apple Music and its accompanying Beats 1 radio the very moment they’re available on June 30th? The streaming service’s senior director, Ian Rogers, is happy to help those early adopter impulses. He says that iOS 8.4 (and thus Apple Music) will be available at 11AM Eastern on that day, and Beats 1 will go on the air one hour later. It’s not clear what you’ll hear if you tune in to the station right away, but the first slate of programming will include an interview with Eminem as well as appearances from everyone from Cara Delevigne to (unsurprisingly) Beats brand co-founder Dr. Dre.
And no, Apple hasn’t forgotten about iTunes Match and streaming the songs you already have. Eddy Cue notes that Apple Music will not only share the feature, but expand on it — the company is aiming to match up to 100,000 songs in your library (versus today’s 25,000) by the time iOS 9 shows up this fall. Unless you have a mind-numbingly huge music collection, you can safely assume that it’ll be available in the cloud.
Filed under: Internet, Mobile, Apple
Via: MacRumors
Source: Fistfulayen, Beats 1 (Twitter), Zane Lowe (Twitter)
Apple reportedly starts making force-sensitive iPhones
Those rumors of a pressure-sensitive iPhone just gained a little more weight. Bloomberg sources claim that Apple has begun “early production” of iPhone models that incorporate Force Touch input. Full-scale manufacturing would start as soon as July, if all goes well. Don’t expect these devices to be conspicuously different, though. The tipsters say the devices will be similar on the outside to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, right down to the 4.7- and 5.5-inch screens. In other words, this could well be the stereotypical iPhone “S” release — all the big improvements (such as Force Touch, a faster processor and upgraded cameras) may be found under the hood.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple
Source: Bloomberg
Facebook makes it easier for iPhone users to find links
Facebook’s about to make it easier for you to find and share links while you’re on the move. The social network has updated its iPhone application with a new feature that lets users search for articles, videos and other web content using keywords. As pictured above, typing a couple of words about what you’re looking will bring up a list of related links — which can then be viewed and shared with your Facebook friends, directly from the app. For now, the feature is only available to people who have an iPhone, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see this on Facebook’s Android app in the near future.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Software, Mobile, Facebook
Source: Facebook
FLIR’s thermal camera is out for iOS, Android to follow
That second-gen FLIR One thermal camera we saw earlier this year is now available for iPhones and iPads, with the Android version shipping in July. If the last time you’ve heard about it was back in 2014, this might come as a surprise, as the first-gen camera was embedded in an iPhone 5/5s case. This one is is a standalone accessory with a built-in battery that attaches to iOS devices via a Lightning connector and to Android phones and tablets via microUSB. It also has an updated thermal camera with four times the resolution of the one inside the first-gen cases.
You can use thermal cameras like this to survey your home and make sure there are no warm/cold air leaks that could affect your electricity or heating bill. It can also help you spot smoldering coals or small fires, in case you smell something burning and can’t figure out where it’s coming from. By the way, if you’re a developer, keep an eye out for iOS and Android SDKs that you can use to create apps for the device. Otherwise, you can buy or pre-order the new FLIR One right now for $250 and the old cases for $150, if you don’t mind their lower resolution.
Filed under: Peripherals
Source: FLIR One (1), (2)
T-Mobile’s iPhones are getting the ‘blue screen of death’
If you’ve been having problems with your T-Mobile iPhone, you’re not alone. A lot of people have been experiencing random freezes, restarts and (this is not a joke, folks) the dreaded blue screen of death. A lot of people have been airing their complaints on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit and the Apple forums — even one of our own editors had to deal with the issue earlier. There’s no official word yet on what’s going on exactly, but according to MacRumors, it’s been affecting iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus devices running iOS 8.1 or 8.3.
Reddit user Geophyzze, who called up T-Mobile, said the company suspects it’s a memory problem and advises subscribers to do a hard reset, clear out old text messages if that doesn’t work, or to do a full factory restore if all else fails. To note, our editor’s iPhone stopped going haywire after he disabled WiFi calling, so definitely try that first before doing a factory restore. We’ve reached out to both T-Mobile and Apple for answers and will update this post once we hear back.
[Photo by Will Lipman]
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple
Source: Mac Rumors
iPhone users can attach Drive files on Google Calendar
iPhone users can start associating files from Drive directly to Google Calendar events, thanks to the app playing catch up to its Android version. Those files can be documents, PDFs, work presentations and spreadsheets or photos you took at a party — whatever they are, Calendar will ask whether you want other people to be able to view or edit them. Just like the Android update that rolled out a few months ago, this one also comes with a seven-day week view so users can easily peek at their schedules. Plus, it intros interactive notifications that add an option to email guests and to open a saved location in Maps from the lock screen. That’s about it for now, but as always, iPhone owners who want to know what’s next can keep an eye out for the latest Android update… and then wait a few months to get the new features.
Filed under: Misc, Mobile, Google
Source: Official Gmail Blog
iOS 9 will delete apps to make room for system updates
Early adopters of iOS 9 beta 2 have discovered a new feature that will temporarily delete apps from overloaded devices when there isn’t enough space to install system updates. Many users with the smaller 8GB and 16GB iPhones reportedly had difficulty fitting the last upgrade onto their mobile devices. And while iOS 9 is only a fraction of the size of iOS 8 (they’re 1.3 GB and 4.3 GB, respectively), Apple is clearly trying to nip similar complaints in the bud this time around. The new feature will of course reinstall the deleted app once the update has completed — plus, presumably, any user data that was deleted along with the app itself.
Source: MacRumors
Instagram’s revamped photo exploration helps you follow trends
Want to see all the Instagram shots coming out of that big music festival? It should be much easier after today. Instagram is releasing new versions of its Android and iOS apps whose overhauled Explore and Search features help you follow trends as they happen. You’ll see the most recent trending hashtags and places, and a new Places Search shows the buzz in just about any location on the planet — helpful if you want to know what your vacation spot looks like in real life. Both app updates should be available today, so you’ll find out what’s hot in very short order.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile, Facebook
Source: Instagram Blog
Dark Sky uses your iPhone’s sensors to improve weather forecasts
Your iPhone gives you weather forecasts right from the get-go, but it’s now ready to shape those forecasts as well. Dark Sky has given its iOS app a big overhaul that, if you like, uses the barometer on your iPhone 6 or 6 Plus to contribute pressure readings. The hope is that these will dramatically improve short-term forecasts in the future — you’ll know that it’s about to rain because iPhones nearby gave you a heads-up. There have been apps that crowdsourced pressure data before, but rarely with the intent to directly improve forecasts — and not on the scale of Dark Sky, one of iOS’ best-known weather tools.
It might be a worthy update even if you don’t plan to contribute. There’s a brand new visual layout, as you’d expect, but you can also create custom notifications for big weather changes, such as a sudden drop in temperature or strong winds. It’ll track the UV index, too, so you’ll know to pack sunscreen for that trip to the beach. Dark Sky will cost you $4 if you aren’t already a customer, but that small expense could pay off if it saves you from getting soaked by an unexpected storm.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile
Source: App Store, Forecast.io
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